Pair of carrying handles of flexible plastics material for carrier bags of plastics

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a pair of carrying handles of flexible plastics material, preferably polyethylene, for carrier bags of plastics, paper or The like, in which each handle comprises a hand grip portion and a mounting strip that can be attached to a respective wall of the bag along the bag mouth, one margin of each mounting strip being of substantially U section and disposed beyond the mouth when the mounting strip is so attached, the open sides of the U sections confronting one another in the finished bag.

United States Patent Ender May 30, 1972 [54] PAIR OF CARRYING HANDLES OF References Ciled FLEXIBLE PLASTICS MATERIAL F OR UNITED STATES PATENTS CARRIER BAGS 0F PLASTICS 3,313,470 4/ I967 Renner et al. ..229/54 3,558,039 1/1971 Schmidt [72] Inventor: Manfred Ender, St. Gallen, Switzerland Primary Examiner-Robby R. Gay [73] Asslgnee' 8822; 5 :32 i lz Lengench of; Assistant Examiner-Doris C. Troutman y Att0rney--Fleit, Gipple & Jacobson [22] Filed: Dec. 21, 1970 v 211 Appl. No.: 99,827 [571 ABSTRACT I The invention relates to a pair of carrying handles of flexible plastics material, preferably polyethylene, for carrier bags of no] Foreign Appncamm prlomy Dam plastics, paper or The like, in which each handle comprises a Dec. 22, I969 Germany ..P l) 64 200.6

hand grip portion and a mounting strip that can be attached to a respective wall of the bag along the bag mouth, one margin of each mounting strip being of substantially U section and disposed beyond the mouth when the mounting strip is so attached, the open sides of the U sections confronting one another in the finished bag.

7 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEDmao I972 3. 665 551 sum 10$ 5 INVENTOR MahlmJ [Ivar I1. itorneya PATENTEUMM 30 I972 SHEEI U 0F 5 Q. NEE m PAIR OF CARRYING HANDLES F FLEXIBLE PLASTICS MATERIAL FOR CARRIER BAGS OF PLASTICS In known constructions, such pairs of handles in which the U sections serve to stiffen the handles are provided with pin and socket connections operating on the press stud principle by means of which the handles can be interconnected, primarily for the purpose of permitting the pair of handles to be secured to the bag walls as a unit. Such press stud connections are also useful for closing the carrier bag after it has been filled. However, if the bag contains a large weight or a large volume, then the mounting strips of the handles are subjected to forces that emanate from the bag walls and that tend to open up the press studs. This has the disadvantage of exposing the bag contents to weather influences. Another and very considerable disadvantage is that ready-filled carrier bags exhibited for sale open too easily either intentionally or unintentionally, in both cases resulting in unnecessary loss of the bag contents.

To minimise these disadvantages, it has already been suggested that the mounting strip of one handle be provided with flexible lugs which can be pulled through eyes provided in the mounting strip of the other handle for the purpose of securely closing the bag by interconnecting the handles. Such handles have not proved particularly successful in practice because the closing operation is time-consuming and therefore costly and unsuitable for mass production. In another known form of pairs of handles, one of the mounting strips is provided with hooks instead of eyes, holes in the other mounting strip being suspended from the hooks. In this form the closing operation takes up much less time but in many cases the amount of required manipulation is still excessive.

The invention aims to provide a pair of carrying handles with which unintentional opening of the carrier bag is almost impossible under the action of the weight or volume of the material with which the bag is filled, the manipulation required to interconnect the two handles being no greater than that for interconnectinghandles provided with press studs.

According to the invention, there is provided a pair of carrying handles of flexible plastics material for a carrier bag, each handle comprising a mounting strip of which a first longitudinal marginal portion is attachable to a respectivewall of the bag along the mouth thereof and a second longitudinal marginal portion is of substantially U section and disposed beyond the mouth when said first portion is so attached, a hand grip portion defining a hand hole, and means for interengaging said handles with said first portions in face-to-face contact and with the openings of the U sections confronting oneanother, wherein at least along parts of the lengths of the mounting strips the respective limbs of theU sections furthest from said first marginal portions extend beyond the contacting faces of said first marginal portions so that one of these limbs overlies the other limb when the handles are interengaged, the said one limb terminates in a hook-like member received in a recess of the U section possessing the other limb when the handles are interengaged, the U section possessing said one limb is provided with a flange parallel to said one limb and spaced therefrom by a distance corresponding to the thickness of said other limb, and wherein the said other limb and the said flange have a length such that they abut the webs of the U sections when the handles are interengaged.

Whereas with known carrying handles having portions of U section for strengthening purposes it is only intended that the U sections make frictional contact, in the construction according to the invention the said other limb of one of the mounting strips is received in the space between the said one limb and flange of the other mounting strip and, since the said one limb overlaps the other limb and has its hook-like member engaged in a recess, there will be positive engagement between the two mounting strips, thereby making it almost impossible to separate the two handles unintentionally while in tentional separation is made more difficult. In particular, considering the condition of the handles after they have been at tached to a bag, any downwardly and outwardly directed forces exerted on the mounting strips are unlikely to result in separation of the strips because the resultant torque applied to the mounting strips would only have the effect of pressing the said other limb against the flange and against the hook-like member of the one limb, thereby resulting in more secure interengagement of the handles. Since the lengths of the said other limb and flange are chosen so that they abut the webs of the respective'opposite U sections, the parts of the mounting strips which bring about interengagement are prevented from moving relatively to one another. The handles can be separated only by lifting the said one limb and releasing its hook-like member from the recess of the U section possessing the other limb. During interconnection of the handles, the said other limb is readily received in the space between the said one limb and flange but insertion of the said other limb can be facilitated by chamfering its free edge. A complementary bevel would then also be necessary at the transition between the web and the said other limb of the U section possessing said other limb.

For the purpose of achieving even more secure interengagement of the handles, the U section possessing said other limb may be provided with a further flange which is parallel to said other limb and terminates in a further hook-like member received in a further recess in the U section possessing said one limb when the handles are interengaged. Preferably, both the hook-like member and the further hook-like member are flush with the webs of the respectively opposite U sections. It may also be advantageous for the hand grip portions of the handles to be provided with interengageable cross-sections of U shape, one limb of one hand grip portion overlapping a corresponding limb of the other hand grip portion and terminating in a hook received in a still further recess of the said other hand grip portion, the hook preferably again being flush with the web of the opposite U section.

Two examples of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the inside of one carrying handle, i.e. the side that would be facing the other handle of a pair of handles when attached to a carrier bag;

FIG. 2 is a corresponding fragmentary plan view of the inside of the other handle of the pair;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line NO in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section on the line J-K in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section corresponding to FIGS. 3 and 4 but showing the handles interengaged;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line P-Q in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a section on the line L-M of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a section corresponding to FIGS. 6 and 7 but when the handles are interengaged;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section through the interengaged handles and taken at a position corresponding to the line R-S in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but of a modified embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of a modified handle which forms a pair with the handle of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a section on the line T-U in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary section on the line V-W in FIG. 11, and

FIG. 14 is a section on the lines T-U in FIG. 10 and V-W in FIG. 1 1 showing the handles interengaged.

Referring to the FIGS. 1 to 9 embodiment, the handles 1 and 2 constitute a pair and comprise respective mounting strips 3 and 4 of which a flat longitudinal lower marginal portion is attachable to a respective wall of a carrier bag of plastics film, paper or the like by welding, glueing, hot sealing or the like. When so attached, the flat lower marginal portion of each mounting strip will extend along the mouth of the bag while an upper marginal portion of substantially U section will be disposed above the mouth. Each mounting strip carries an integral hand grip portion 5 or 6 which is also of U section and defines a hand hole. When attached to the bag, the openings of the U sections of the mounting strips and the hand grip portions confront one another. At their ends and at a central region adjacent the hand hole, the mounting strips 3 and 4 are provided with means for interengaging the handles so that the aforementioned flat lower marginal portions of the mounting strips will be in face-to-face contact as shown in FIG. 5. In this connection, it should be noted that the handles will normally be secured to the inner faces of the walls of the carrier bag but, should they secured to the outer faces of the walls, then the latter will be sandwiched between the fiat marginal portions of the interengaged mounting strips 3, 4 and the term face-to-face contact as used in this specification should be construed accordingly.

At each position where the mounting strips are provided with means for interengaging the handles, the limb 7 of the U section of the mounting strip 3 of the handle 1 is at a lower level than the limb 8 of the U section of the mounting strip 4 of the handle 2. Both of the limbs 7 and 8 extend beyond the contacting faces of the flat marginal portions of the mounting strips. In the illustrated example, the limb 8 is provided at its free edge with a plurality of spaced hook-like members 9. At the transition between the limb 7 and the web 10 of its associated U section there is a recess 11 which extends lengthwise of the mounting strip 3 and in which the hook-like members 9 are received as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 when the two handles are interengaged. The outer faces of the members 9 are flush with the outside of the web 10,

In the case of the handle 2 at the positions where means are provided for interengaging the handles the web 12 ofthe U section of the mounting strip 4 is provided with a flange 13 which extends parallel to the limb 8 and at such a spacing from the limb 8 that the limb 7 will fit therebetween. The flange 13 is chamfered at its free end and, when the handles are interengaged as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the chamfered end will abut a correspondingly bevelled surface 14 at the transition between the limb 7 and the web 10. The length of the limb 7 is such that it will abut the inside of the web 12 when the handles are interengaged. As soon as it has reached this abutting position, the hook members 9 will be engaged in the recess 11 to lock the handles in their interengaged condition.

If an outwardly directed force is exerted on the mounting strips 3 and 4 by the walls of the carrier bag tending to separate the mounting strips 3 and 4, then, as a result of the torque acting on the respective U sections of the mounting strips, the limb 7 will be pushed more securely against the flange 13 and the limb 8 more securely against the limb 7. Since the position of the limb 7 is secured by the hook-like members 9 engaged in the recess 11 and since relative movement of the parts 7, 8, 13 is impossible, the forces acting on the mounting strips 3, 4 will therefore not be effective to disengage the handles. If the handles are to be separated by hand, the limb 8 should be lifted to free the hook-like members 9 or the hand grip portions 5 and 6 should be pulled apart. When the hand grip portions 5 and 6 are pulled apart the limb 8 will likewise be lifted.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the hand grip portions 5 and 6 are also of U section, the limb 15 of the portion 6 overlapping the limb 16 of the portion 5 and being provided with a hook-like member 17 received in a recess 18 of the portion 5 when the handles are interengaged.

It will be evident from FIGS. 6 to 8 in relation to FIGS. 3 to 5 that the interengaging means at the ends of the mounting strips 3 and 4 are of similar construction to the interengaging means at the middle of the mounting strips. FIG. 9 shows that at those positions where there are no interengaging means the limbs 8 and 15 extend beyond the contacting faces of the flat portions of the mounting strips 3, 4 and overlap the limbs 7 and 16, respectively.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 14 differs from the FIGS. 1 to 9 embodiment in the manner described hereinafter. Integers that have already been described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 9 are provided with the same reference numerals and will not be described again. In this embodiment, the U section of the mounting strip 3 is provided with flanges 19 which extend parallel to the imb 7 and terminate in hooks 20 which are similar to the hook-like members 9. The web 12 of the mounting strip 4 is provided with complementary recesses 21 in which the hooks 20 are received when the handles are interengaged as shown in FIG. 14. The thickness of the hooks 20 and the depth of each recess 21 are so chosen that the outer face of the hooks 20 will be flush with the outer face of the web 12 in the FIG. 14 condition. The embodiment of FIGS. 10 to 14 provides more secure interengagement of the handles.

Iclaim:

l. A pair of carrying handles of flexible plastics material for a carrier bag, each handle comprising a mounting strip of which a first longitudinal marginal portion is attachable to a respective wall of the bag along the mouth thereof and a second longitudinal marginal portion is of substantially U section and disposed beyond the mouth when said first portion is so attached, a hand grip portion defining a hand hole, and means for interengaging said handles with said first portions in face-to-face contact and with the openings of the U sections confronting one another, wherein at least along parts of the lengths of the mounting strips the respective limbs of the U sections furthest from said first marginal portions extend beyond the contacting faces of said first marginal portions so that one of these limbs overlies the other limb when the handles are interengaged, the said one limb terminates in a hooklike member received in a recess of the U section possessing the other limb when the handles are interengaged, the U section possessing said one limb is provided with a flange parallel to said one limb and spaced therefrom by a distance corresponding to the thickness of said other limb, and wherein the said other limb and the said flange have a length such that they abut the webs of the U sections when the handles are interengaged.

2. A pair of handles according to claim 1 made from polyethylene.

3. A pair of handles according to claim 1 wherein the said hook-like member is flush with the web of the U section possessing said other limb when the handles are interengaged.

4. A pair of handles according to claim 1 wherein the end of the said flange is chamfered and a complementary bevel is provided at the transition between the web and said other lim of the U section possessing said other limb.

5. A pair of handles according to claim 1 wherein the U section possessing said other limb is provided with a further flange which is parallel to said other limb and terminates in a further hook-like member received in a further recess in the U section possessing said one limb when the handles are interengaged.

6. A pair of handles according to claim 5, wherein the said further hook-like member is flush with the web of the U section possessing the said one limb when the handles are interengaged.

7. A pair of handles according to claim 1 wherein said hand grip portions are provided with interengageable cross-sections of U shape, one limb of one hand grip portion overlapping a corresponding limb of the other hand grip portion and terminating in a hook received in a still further recess of the said other hand grip portion when the handles are interengaged. 

1. A pair of carrying handles of flexible plastics material for a carrier bag, each handle comprising a mounting strip of which a first longitudinal marginal portion is attachable to a respective wall of the bag along the mouth thereof and a second longitudinal marginal portion is of substantially U section and disposed beyond the mouth when said first portion is so attached, a hand grip portion defining a hand hole, and means for interengaging said handles with said first portions in face-to-face contact and with the openings of the U sections confronting one another, wherein at least along parts of the lengths of the mounting strips the respective limbs of the U sections furthest from said first marginal portions extend beyond the contacting faces of said first marginal portions so that one of these limbs overlies the other limb when the handles are interengaged, the said one limb terminates in a hook-like member received in a recess of the U section possessing the other limb when the handles are interengaged, the U section possessing said one limb is provided with a flange parallel to said one limb and spaced therefrom by a distance corresponding to the thickness of said other limb, and wherein the said other limb and the said flange have a length such that they abut the webs of the U sections when the handles are interengaged.
 2. A pair of handles according to claim 1 made from polyethylene.
 3. A pair of handles according to claim 1 wherein the said hook-like member is flush with the web of the U section possessing said other limb when the handles are interengaged.
 4. A pair of handles according to Claim 1 wherein the end of the said flange is chamfered and a complementary bevel is provided at the transition between the web and said other limb of the U section possessing said other limb.
 5. A pair of handles according to claim 1 wherein the U section possessing said other limb is provided with a further flange which is parallel to said other limb and terminates in a further hook-like member received in a further recess in the U section possessing said one limb when the handles are interengaged.
 6. A pair of handles according to claim 5, wherein the said further hook-like member is flush with the web of the U section possessing the said one limb when the handles are interengaged.
 7. A pair of handles according to claim 1 wherein said hand grip portions are provided with interengageable cross-sections of U shape, one limb of one hand grip portion overlapping a corresponding limb of the other hand grip portion and terminating in a hook received in a still further recess of the said other hand grip portion when the handles are interengaged. 